Mental Health Services on the NHS
There has been a massive rise in people seeking help for mental health issues, and the NHS has responded by offering services. This includes:
The Long Term Plan has made an unrepeatable commitment to increase the investment in mental health services quicker than the NHS budget in general. This will include specialized work in suicide prevention.
Getting help
One in four people will suffer from mental illness at one time in their lives. The good news is there are many avenues to seek help, and most of us will recover over time. It's important to understand the types of help available and who can provide it.
You can seek assistance from your GP or the local health center or mental health team within your local area. These teams consist of occupational and nurse speech therapists, and psychotherapists. They work with the clients who seek their services. You can receive individual or group therapy depending on the type of help you need.
You will be asked to complete a form with your GP so they can refer you to a mental health team in the community. They will also talk with you about the type of help you require. You will be consulted by members of the mental team like psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. In certain instances the assessment and treatment will be conducted by a nurse specialist. If you're in a crisis, you can contact the NHS 111 helpline for immediate assistance. If you already receive mental health services, it is best to contact your regular team first, unless it's out of office hours, on a weekend, or a bank holiday.
The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health outlined plans to create more place-based, multidisciplinary community mental health teams that have links to primary care networks. These will help to improve the quality of care that is given to those experiencing an illness of mental health and offer assistance in their homes and communities rather than in hospitals.
The plan also aims to make emergency services available by decreasing wait times and allowing more beds. It also proposes the introduction of mental health transport vehicles and ensure that every ambulance has a mental health liaison nurse in their control rooms to ensure that those suffering from mental health issues are supported in emergency situations.
Treatment options
The NHS provides a wide range of treatment options for mental health issues. Disorders that are less severe are usually treated by GPs, while more serious conditions require a specialist team. These teams operate in community and primary healthcare facilities and psychiatric hospitals. You can also seek help in a secure environment should you be in a state of crisis.
Talking therapies for depression and anxiety are among the most popular types of treatment. Previously referred to as IAPT These programs have seen the number of people who seek them increase every year since their launch in 2008. The NHS Long Term Plan has committed to expanding these services to 1.9 million people by 2023/2024.
The use of psychiatric medication is also a vital part of treatment. They can improve symptoms through altering the way chemicals work in your brain. They can also be used to reduce the effects of other treatments. Your doctor will recommend the right medication for you.
There are many kinds of talking therapies, including individual therapy and group therapy. mental health online assessment uk of these treatments are offered in person, while other are available via remote access. Some patients prefer treatment in person, but that is a personal choice. There are also a number of charities which offer support groups and courses, such as Mind. The website contains a wealth of information that is trustworthy, but be aware of the fact that there are many false or misleading statements on the internet about mental health issues.
The NHS is advancing the quality of mental health care, but it struggles to meet the demands. In the UK, there are 54 mental trusts. The majority of them receive funding from the clinical commissioning groups. They typically are located in a specific region however, they may be contracted to provide national services.
The shortage of resources is a major problem. There are also concerns over the quality of care, and there is a shortage of nurses and psychiatrists. The NHS is working to improve the services by introducing new methods of work and delivering more training. It also provides more efficient and safer methods of treating people who are in crisis. These include mobile crisis teams and safe spaces.
We are here to help you
Since the NHS was launched 70 years ago, there have been positive changes for those with mental health issues. The treatment options have gotten better and social barriers have been broken down. But there is much more to be done.
People experiencing mental health problems need to be able to get the assistance they require quickly and easily. This is why the NHS is putting in the effort to improve the quality of services for those who need these services. We will ensure that no acute hospital is without the mental health liaison service in A&E departments and wards for patients by 2020/21. 70% of these services will be in line with the "core 24" standard by 2023/24. Then we will work towards achieving 100% coverage afterward.
We will also increase services for the community, such as talking therapy, in order to provide assistance to hundreds of thousands of people suffering from mental health issues regardless of whether they are common or severe. We will continue to develop our national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT) in order to ensure that more people with mental health issues can be seen quicker by trained therapists.
The NHS provides free, confidential helplines to anyone suffering from mental health issues. These include the Samaritans and Mind and Rethink. These helplines are run entirely by volunteers who offer a safe place to talk or give advice and information on how to deal your mental health concerns.
In addition there are a variety of local organizations that provide assistance and support for people with mental health problems. Self-help guides, coping strategies and other activities are all possible. A lot of these organizations provide support groups in person for those who prefer this method.
The University's Open Door Team offers a drop-in counseling service for students feeling down or stressed. There's also the Nightline student counselling service, which provides confidential listening and support from experienced volunteers, or details on other services. Charities like Mind and Rethink can provide an abundance of information and support, both online and in local groups. They can provide a variety of courses and activities including mindfulness classes to art classes that can be beneficial for those suffering from mental health issues.
Referrals
Mental health services are under pressure and GPs are forced to make difficult decisions about the best specialist services to refer their patients to. The doctor will take the patient's medical history into consideration and then refer them to a specialist they believe could be able to assist. They can send a referral to an NHS trust, or an independent provider.
A mental health specialist will then review the referral and decide whether it's appropriate or not. If the specialist isn't satisfied with the referral, they will contact the GP and explain their reasons. They may also request the GP for more details or to alter the referral.
Requests for a local Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) may be made via the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS). The system allows GPs as well as other healthcare professionals to refer people to either a mental health assessment or directly to an appointment with an outpatient. However not all CMHTs provide both options, and the system isn't able to be used for every kind of mental health referral.
A GP may also refer patients to a community mental health specialist service (CMT). They are usually managed by an extensive hospital or a local healthcare organisation. CMTs are a good choice for those who require to see a psychiatrist or psychologist but don't require inpatient care. They can also provide an early intervention service, where a psychiatrist works with the therapist to help a person overcome a crisis or improve their quality of life.
One of the biggest challenges that CMTs CMT is ensuring that all appropriate referrals are assigned within the appropriate timeframe. Many referrals are considered urgent, even though they might not be. This can result in over-working and delays for people who aren't in a crisis.
To combat this problem, some CMHTs have tried to establish more uniform guidelines for what constitutes an urgent referral. This has been achieved by using an established referral form that requires a referrer to consider whether the case is urgent. The form includes a box that the referrer can tick if they feel that the referral is urgent.